Hip replacement surgery can be a long recovery process. What should you expect?
While hip replacement surgery is increasingly common, each person’s recovery is different.
Recovery time can vary and will often depend on your age, health, diet, and how active you were before your surgery.
More than 450,000 hip replacements are done each year in the USA alone. It is not only a successful procedure in the US, but all over the world.
But just because hip replacement surgery is becoming safer and more common, doesn’t mean it’s a minor procedure.
Recovery begins immediately
After surgery, it will take around two hours for your anesthesia to wear off. You’ll then be moved to a hospital room, where medical staff will keep an eye on your blood pressure, pulse, alertness, and need for pain medications.
Most patients begin walking the same day as surgery with a cane or a walker. They are encouraged to do so, with supervision, while still in a hospital setting. Most patients can expect their hospital stay to last between 1 to 2 days. However, many patients are able to go home the same day. If your recovery takes longer than that, you may be transferred to a rehabilitation center before returning home.
Getting active
Being physically active is crucial for your post-surgery recovery. It’s important in the days and weeks after hip replacement surgery to help in your recovery and prevent blood clots.
Depending on your progress, you should be able to return to most of your normal physical activities, but you should avoid taking on too much too soon and give yourself time to heal.
You should expect to do 10 to 15 minutes of exercise several times a day, every day, for about two months following your operation. Still, the best exercise for a hip replacement is walking. Walking with assistive devices can put strain on your wrists and back so it is best to transition to walking independently once you feel safe to do so.
Hip replacement surgery puts patients at risk for blood clots during the first month after surgery.
To help reduce the risk, your doctor may:
● Prescribe blood-thinning medication
● Encourage you to elevate your legs above the level of your heart
● Wear compression socks
● Get up and walk every hour while awake.
Moving about as much as possible and doing suggested exercises will help maintain good blood flow in your legs and prevent blood clots. As you work to improve your hip mobility, you should find that you have much less pain than before your surgery.
Will you be able to do everything you could do before hip pain?
Studies show that nearly 90 percent of hip replacement patients feel better and resume normal activity within a few months, and sometimes even weeks, following the surgery.
Although you will experience some discomfort, swelling, and pain post-surgery, once recovery is complete, the joint should function normally again with little or no discomfort.
You can typically return to work after four to six weeks, and resume driving one to four weeks after the operation, or when you are no longer taking pain medication.
Hip replacement surgery has a very high success rate, and it can offer life improvement for most patients. If you or someone you love is planning to undergo hip replacement surgery, it’s important to educate yourself on the process, from the day of the operation, to the recovery period.
